Datsun Roadster Forum-311s.org

Hello Roadster folks!

I've joined up to see what info I can find for my sister, whose car is labeled as 05886 from 1966.
She lives out in the California Central Valley, near Fresno. I'm sure she would enjoy meeting the local roadster crew.

Her car just came out of the shop; rejuvenated after a loong sleep in her garage. The internet came to the rescue on a few brake parts and I'm sure it will again in the days to come.

One of the issues with the car is the hood latch, which never seemed to work quite right. I haven't put an eye to it, but she is quite frustrated and is ready to have hood pins installed. ("NOOOooooo!" I cried.)

I hope I can convince her to come aboard here and reach out for info, tips, and camaraderie.

Personally I own a Honda del Sol, as well as an older MG BGT. I'm very active on my del Sol board and being on another php board makes me feel at home here, too.

I've got some lurking to do now- and some search button clicking...

Hi and welcome!
The latch is adjustable.
The pin is threaded and has a locknut at its' base.
Depending o the problem, you release the locknut and adjust the length of the pin.

Hood latches but sits up high, shorten the pin.
Hood doesn't latch, lengthen the pin. Assembled body catch from bottom. Bottom side with lower plate removed showing the catch and spring loaded lever.
Pin Receiver mounted on the body.
This device has to be well greased to allow the catch mechanism to freely engage and disengage. Hood pin showing the locknut, threaded portion and slot for screwdriver adjustment.
This bloke also needs to be well greased to allow the pin to slide into the body latch and the spring to compress when the hood is pushed down

Hi back-

Thanks for the response and pictures! I recall seeing them in another thread on this site.
For some reason, my sister thinks that there may be several types of hood latches on the cars.
It seems that she is missing a piece or two and getting the correctly matching replacements is the challenge.

I'll have to get her to send some close-up pictures of her latch parts.

If you are in SF, get a hold of Mike Young. He has any part that you could possibly need for the hood latch or anything else for that matter.

Those pics. are of a 1965 SP310.
Later models would probably have the manual safety latch added, don't know for sure

IF you can get some pictures form your sister that would be best. This is an easily solved problem and members and vendors are sure to have the solution!
Welcome aboard!
(Pictures of the car are important for posterity's sake as well!! )
Ah heck, we just like pictures!

The latches are all essentially the same. The differences were bolt hole spacing on the stud mounting base, and 69 and 70 models having a safety catch. There are detail differences through the years, as well. Basically it is a juggling game. Adjust the latch proper to get the stud centered. Then adjust the stud for depth. Grease is a good thing. Most have not seen grease since the 60's.

Thanks a lot, guys! Great info!
I'll lean on sis for some pics of the latch stuff and car in general.

It's nice to find a friendly, helpful forum.

I've started a new thread to discuss the hood latch specifically...
http://www.311s.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=13259" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Hope that's ok. If not, either the mods or I could cut and paste it back in here.